


A Twist In History

by ramenwriter (WritingEngine)



Category: Minecraft (Video Game), Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe, Angst, Comfort, Cuddles, Developing Friendships, Emotional Hurt, F/F, F/M, Family Dynamics, Gen, Hugs, Kissing, Lovers to Friends, M/M, Memory Loss, Multi, Other, Strangers to Friends, Tales Of The SMP, Time Travel, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, Unrequited Love
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-17
Updated: 2021-02-16
Packaged: 2021-03-14 20:22:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,821
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29052078
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WritingEngine/pseuds/ramenwriter
Summary: Karl takes a dip into different parts of history, dubbing his adventures "The Tale of the SMP".In only two weeks, he will have to return home to be wed to his fiancés.He's pretty sure he'll make it back just fine.
Relationships: Alexis | Quackity/Karl Jacobs/Sapnap, Minor or Background Relationship(s)
Kudos: 7





	1. Leave a Note

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Anyone can alter history if they really wanted to.  
> Karl Jacobs happens to be the only one dead-set on fixing timelines.

_Dear Quackity and Sappy,_

_Our wedding's in two weeks!_

_We're gonna be husbands, and we're gonna be awesome at it._

_We are definitely showing off how cool we are, married or not, to the rest of the SMP._

_BUT I do have some quick news!_

_I WILL be out of the country by the time you find this note; got something to do before the wedding._

_Maybe I'll even pick up wedding gifts for my very pretty, very handsome boys. <3_

_Anywho, I will be absolutely back for our big wedding in two weeks or less!_

_And you better know I'll be missing the honk out of you dummies._

_Call me with your communicators whenever you want, even just to tell me how amazing I am (I'm kidding - partially), and I'm gonna do my best to pick up when I can!_

_I made a quick list of our guests and the special people for our wedding by the way; feel free to make any changes necessary while I'm away, as long as you two agree!_

_Our guests are:_

**_Skeppy_ **

**_Purpled_ **

**_Ranboo (?)_ **

**_Phil_ **

**_Ponk_ **

**_Fundy_ **

**_Schlatt_ **

**_Eret_ **

**_Jack Manifold_ **

**_HBomb_ **

**_Antfrost_ **

**_Connor_ **

**_The Boomers (Vikkstar & LazarBeam)_ **

**_Foolish_ **

**_Hannah_ **

**_Slimecicle_ **

_And here are our special people and what they're supposed to do:_

**_Wilbur (Marriage Officiant)_ **

**_Tommy (Ring Bearer)_ **

**_Tubbo (Flower Boy)_ **

**_George (Best Man, walks Quackity down aisle)_ **

**_Sam (Man of Honor, walks Sapnap down aisle)_ **

**_Dream (Groomsman for Karl, helps with clothes)_ **

**_Punz (Groomsman for Sapnap, helps with clothes)_ **

**_Techno (Groomsman for Quackity, helps with clothes)_ **

**_Puffy (Best Woman, walks Karl down aisle)_ **

**_Bad (Maid of Honor, ensure wedding goes smoothly)_ **

**_Callahan (Bridesmaid for Karl, helps with clothes) (w/Dream)_ **

**_Alyssa (Bridesmaid for Sapnap, helps with clothes) (w/Punz)_ **

**_Niki (Bridesmaid for Quackity, helps with clothes) (w/Techno)_ **

_I think that's everyone and everything I got down for people, but feel free to change anything if switches need to be done!_

_Our wedding's in two weeks in case you forget; can't wait to marry my two favorite people in the world. <3_

_Yours Always,_

_Karl J. <3_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> give that subscribe button a boop :0  
> booping is free, and you can always unboop!


	2. The Village That Was Peaceful

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Karl travels back in time to visit Not A Very Good Town Town, and he sees it for what it used to be.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Everyone EXCEPT the canon characters (like Helga for example) are my headcanon versions of the other SMP members (like Hudson for example) :D
> 
> DO TAKE NOTE:  
> -THE CROSSBOWS WILL BE REFERRED TO AS GUNS AS THEY ARE THE MINECRAFT EQUIVALENT (IN THE SMP + TALES) TO THEM !!

_29 villagers are living their day-to-day lives when suddenly all of them meet at the well._

_Something floats in the water; no, it's a person, and there's a chance they are still breathing, too._

"We're being invaded by them, I knew it!" Helga, deemed the village's promiscuous wife of the mayorby all, cries out. She's fanning herself with a handkerchief, a yellow one to be exact. She promptly falls into her husband's arms, who is the mayor of this sweet village.

The mayor, Jimmy, sighs and tilts his wife to have her stand on her own two feet again. He dusts off his hands and his clothes, fixing the single strand of his mustache that sticks out from the rest. Then, he clears his throat, grabbing everyone's attention. "Helga, we are _not_ being invaded by them, and this is the eighteenth time I'm going to tell you this."

Hudson, one of the protectors for the village, moves onto the thin platform with his sword drawn from his belt holster. Joseph, the other protector who's a few years younger than the young adult, steps onto the platform beside him with a stack of fresh hay bales.

"Jose, put down two hay bales right here for the stranger. Just so they don't slip and fall back in," Hudson orders. He keeps one foot on the platform and only briefly looks to see Joseph doing as he's told, and he gently kicks the hay bales to be against the well. Once the younger boy's done and stands next to Hudson again, the sword wielder moves forward and pokes the tip of the weapon against the floating body's chest.

The stranger, a man with short, curly brown hair, stands up completely soaked. He holds a book close to his chest, one with no labels or anything on it to make it stand out; for whatever reason, it's still dry.

"Come," Hudson tells the man, tapping the middle of the hay bales with the end of his sword. He takes a step back when the man steps onto the hay bales, watching him look around at all the townspeople just.. well, _staring_ at the poor guy. Hudson jabs the man in the chest very lightly with his sword; right in the center of the green swirl on his purple hoodie. "As a protector of this town, I need your name."

"Karl," the stranger says immediately, flipping open the strange, titleless book to a random page. Joseph sets the stack of hay bales on the ground and grabs the book from him, careful not to rip any pages in the process. "Hey! That's literally mine, man!"

Joseph nods understandably, whether he actually cares or not. Karl's not even sure if the boy even heard him. The young teen steps away from the well and Hudson, nudging his shoulder when he does so. "What should I do with this confiscated book, Huds?"

Helga pushes the younger men out of her way and grabs Karl's hands, angling them and watching drops of water roll past his knuckles to the ground or down his arms. She ignores his strange muttering and, pinching the sleeves of her purple shoulderless cardigan, using it to try and dry the man's hands off.

It just leaves wet spots on her sleeves, but she doesn't mind; he's smiling from the gesture, so she can only guess she's doing a good job. People don't normally smile when she tries to help them, so this would be a first. She smiles in return when she finishes drying his hands and takes a step back; not before Karl takes her hands in his.

"Oh my," Helga stammers, glancing at their hands and looking at the young man with an awkward smile.

"Thank you," is all that comes from Karl, who emphasises how thankful he is by pressing featherlight kisses to Helga's knuckles. She feels all warm and appreciated inside, proud that someone's grateful for something she's done. That warm feeling swirls around her even after he's walking away from the well and looking at the other villagers. "This is a.. really populated town."

"Okay everyone!" Jimmy shouts, clapping a couple of times to grab everyone's attention. "Go back to doing what it is you were doing before!"

With the little confirmation the situation has been dealt with, said situation being the intruder named Karl, everyone scatters about to do whatever it is they had been doing prior to his strange arrival.

Hudson and Joseph, the former's sword in its holster and the latter carrying the two previously placed hay bales with the other ones he set down, are in a deep conversation about weaponry and blacksmiths. Among the mix of people leaving, all there's left at the well is a young woman, an ordinary villager who goes by Cornelius with the "confiscated" book in hand, Karl, and a man.

"Welcome to A Very Good Town Town," the man greets softly, though his eyes are nothing but cold towards Karl. He has black leather boots on, tan pants fitted under a black shirt that's partially covered by a maroon apron, his hands are covered with black gloves and his brown-and-gold goggles. His hair's dusted with a red powder, and so is his apron. "I'm Clyde, and I'm a blacksmith. You got a career yourself, Karl?" he asks.

Karl thinks over the question for a second before shrugging. "Not really. I mean, unless you count travelling around the world, then I'm pretty careerless."

The blacksmith nods, understanding. Or at least he seems understanding for someone whose face remains straight. "Well if you need anything, like a weapon or some armour, I'll be in my shop. Just look for a sword on a sign above the door, and that'll be the one."

"Thanks," Karl says with a smile, waving as Clyde turns and leaves to assumedly go back to his shop to work. Then he's greeted by both Cornelius, a name that sounds eerily familiar to him, and the woman. He holds his hands out for the book. "I'm gonna need that back, thank you."

"Yeah Corns, give it to him!" the young woman giggles, smiling sweetly as she looks between the two of them. Her dress is patterned in sun symbols, the suns being a soft shade of yellow and the rest of her dress going a little below her knees in a bit of a lighter yellow color. Her feet are secured by.. leaf-made slippers? "Hi there!"

Well, at least she's a little more welcoming than Clyde was.

"Hi, it's nice to-"

" _Lily_ ," comes a disgruntled groan from Cornelius, who looks a lot different than most of the other villagers Karl's seen. He's wearing nothing on his feet except for a couple scratches on them, a green gemstone necklace dangles in front of his yellow cardigan sweater, and a strange mask with a scribbly smile and eyes covers his face. "You need to go home now."

The young woman, Lily, stands tall and faces the tall one. "I believe it's in my rights to do what I want and go where I want if I'm not committing crimes anywhere. Which, lookie here, I'm not doing crimes!" She says this while smiling from ear to ear, which fits her features like a puzzle piece. Like seeing her smile makes _sense_.

She turns to look at Karl, who covers his staring with a quick cough to his shoulder, and rests her hands on his shoulders. She's at least to his neck, maybe a little below even. "You need new garments, you know. I've got the most gorgeous fits you can try on back at my place!"

Cornelius goes to grab Lily's shoulder and pull her away from the brunette, but she catches his wrist in a heartbeat. Her candy-sweet eyes of brown don't lose their light when her focus is on the man in yellow; one blink and Karl's watching her stand on top of Cornelius, who's panting a lot heavier than she is and whose arms are above his head, free from holding the book that now sits to his side.

Karl takes the open opportunity to scurry over, pick up his book, then take a couple safe steps back. He doesn't want to be in the other man's position right now.

"Lily," Cornelius groans the woman's name again, who appears to only grin down at him in victory. "This isn't funny."

Lily's laugh is bubbly and harmonious; her cheeks are flushed with pink and a bit of red, her smile has gotten brighter, and her eyes sparkle like every single star has settled in them. Karl can't help but laugh a little himself, smiling back despite knowing it's not aimed towards him specifically. That doesn't mean he can't enjoy it.

"It's a little funny, Cornelius," she claims, then she steps to the side of him and holds her arm out for him. "You love having someone who can rival your skills in a fight, and you know it. No matter how many times you whine about it."

_They must be close, not quite rivals and not really acquaintances._ Karl thinks, looking between the two silently. He doesn't want to interrupt them, but he also doesn't want to dry up in the sun like a fish, seeing as he's sort of still very wet and still very much dripping. If he's lucky, he'll be able to change into something clean and dry before _he_ dries up entirely.

"I don't _whine_ about anything," Cornelius argues, shooting a half-glare as he grabs onto her arm, moving to stand on his own feet and then letting go. "And I don't fight that much."

Lily mocks him the second he opens his mouth, knowing exactly what he's about to say, but she stops when he looks at her again. "You fight Miles Memeington."

"He keeps talking about steak and it's well-deserved."

"You fight Bob."

Karl's beginning to feel like he shouldn't be here for this conversation.

"He claims to know how to build, but he keeps dropping heavy items around me."

"Jack."

"Like Miles, but with potatoes."

"Jimmy and Johnny."

"They're annoying together and apart. It's also well-deserved."

"Quill."

"His singing is annoying."

"Clyde."

"He treats me like a child."

Lily raises an eyebrow. "Mila."

Cornelius scoffs and shakes his head. Whoever 'Mila' is seems to hit a spot in the masked man. "We're not talking about this anymore, alright?"

Lily hums quietly and steps up to Karl, smiling ever-so kindly at him, happy to see him smile back. "Ready to get into some dry, clean garments at my place, Karl?" There's a small pause when she turns to glance at her friend, then she looks back at Karl. "Cornelius is coming, too."

_Didn't see that_ _coming._

"WHAT?" Cornelius' voice is louder than it's been for the last half an hour; Karl almost covers his ears until he realizes it was only for that second. "Why do I have to come? Putting clothes on someone is a one-person job that _I_ don't have anything to do with."

"You owe me," she says.

"For _what?_ " he asks.

"For setting you up with your cutesy boyfriend, 'course. Or husband." Another pause. "You two aren't married, are you? I know you got a kid together, but-"

"How about we _don't_ disclose private information around a stranger, huh?" Cornelius huffs, gesturing to the brunette that's clearly been listening and, well, standing there the whole time. He looks right at him, even if Karl can't see past the mask. "Guess I'm coming with you then."

"Sorry, sorry. Your messy love life is none o' mine or his concerns," Lily says casually, taking Karl's free hand (one without the book) in hers, interlocking their fingers. Her hand is smaller than his in comparison if looked at a certain angle, otherwise hers looks completely hidden in his. But she doesn't care, and neither does Karl. "Ready, Swirly?"

It takes him a second to realize where the nickname comes from. Karl chuckles and nods acceptingly, only a tiny bit upset when she lets go and starts walking, expecting him to follow. And so, he does.

So does Cornelius, staying close by Karl's side. How reassuring.

"..So, where'd you get that?" Karl asks out of the blue, pointing to the orange gem necklace around Cornelius' neck.

Cornelius touches the gem with his finger before holding it in his palm while he walks, looking down at it. He looks at Karl. "Evelyn made it for me. She thinks it helps me know what I'm feeling, same for other people I guess, since I don't figure it out myself."

_A mood necklace; just old._ Karl keeps it in mind as his eyes linger on a little longer until Cornelius tucks it inside his cardigan. Which, to Karl's understanding, is fair enough. He wouldn't want someone staring at something he's got on his person like they're going to steal it either. Not that he _was_ going to steal it, of course. That's only a hypothetical.

"That's nice of her to do," he responds after a few seconds, looking ahead at the back of Lily's head. The red ribbon sitting on her head bounces as she walks, and her long, black hair swishes slightly as she moves. "Who is Evelyn? I don't think I met her yet."

"She's like the village mother and father," Cornelius begins to explain, and he fixes his collar real quick to look a little less messy from the earlier 'fight' with Lily. "She helps anyone she can, sort of like a healer or something. ..She's really nice, too."

"I hope I get to meet her sometime soon then. She does sound super nice," Karl agrees, nodding along while he listens.

Cornelius nods as well. "She is."

"Lily seems nice, too, and so did that Helga woman from some while ago."

"Helga is..." Cornelius bites his lip, looking for the nicest way to phrase what he wants to say. "...interesting, I'll say. Let's just go with that."

"What about Lily?"

He doesn't need to hesitate this time, though he does look to see if the young woman's listening. Seeing as she's several feet ahead of them and humming to herself, she's practically in her own world already, so Cornelius' gaze returns to Karl. "She's special. She's got a fire in her, like a dragon." He lets out a breathy laugh that sounds oddly similar to a whistle, but not quite. "She trains with me a lot, actually. It gives me something to focus on, and it gives her something to do. That's kind of how we became close."

Karl smiles briefly at that. It sounds like a special bond the two have between each other, and he feels lucky to have landed in such a peaceful place. He thought someone would have gotten hurt right about now. "That's great for you guys. I'm happy to-"

"Down!" Lily half-yells and she runs towards the two, yanking them down behind three large barrels labelled 'MILK'. "Corns, the kids got heaters on them. They're _heeled_ , Corns, heeled!"

"Did they burn powder at you?" Cornelius asks, pulling her arm a little rough as he checks one and the other for any marks. Karl's not too sure what they're talking about, but he can guess it's an urgent situation. "You don't have any marks on you, so you got out safely, right?"

Lily snorts, pulling her arm from him. "I can take on two kids, you know. Unlike you, I don't get all antsy about fighting children."

"I do _not_ -"

Something clatters above the three of them; two guns are reeled back and pointing down at Lily and Cornelius, both of whom are blocking Karl from being visible, practically hiding him behind them. The guns are also, as Karl notes from behind his new friends, being held by the supposed kids Lily talked about.

The first boy has unkempt, bright brown hair; a few strands are getting in the way of his deep brown eyes that are squinted as he wields his gun. His yellow suspenders connect to his white pants, a dirty yellow bowtie sticks to the front of his black shirt, and a brown newsboy cap sits on his head.

The other boy, whose brown hair (a few shades darker and clean), briefly rubs awake his sea-green eyes while shakily holding the gun again. He's also wearing suspenders, though his are colored red that latch onto his black pants. He even has a clean, red bowtie on the front of his white shirt, and a grey newsboy cap hides the top of his head.

"Tuck 'em in bed," the brighter boy whispers, bumping the other boy's shoulder. It causes him to let go of the gun, which shoots as soon as it falls onto the other side of the barrel - right into Lily's hands when she caught it. The boy aims his gun at Lily and steps away from the barrels slowly, his friend following close without a weapon now. "Total fool, you are. Now the brimstone's got your gun."

"Not a brimstone, but you boys are Bens, so I'll give you that," Lily says, shooting a few times at the ground and scooping up the ammo leftover when she's done. She pockets said ammo and throws the useless gun to the boy, who catches and holds it to his chest. Then she looks at the brighter boy. "Robin, you know we're friendly. Corns and I don't bite much, and our friend here-"

" _Your_ friend," Cornelius corrects her, only to get punched in the shoulder in response. He groans and holds where she hit him. "Fine, have it your way."

Karl moves in between Cornelius and Lily carefully, looking at them before focusing on the two boys. "None of us mean any harm to you, I can promise that. I'm Karl, if that makes you feel any better, and these guys are just escorting me to Lily's house so I can get new clothes."

Robin, the bright boy, tucks away his gun onto his back with the strap crossing over his chest. After fixing it to make sure it doesn't all come apart, and making sure his friend does the same with his own gun, he crosses his arms and narrows his eyes at Karl. "I don't like you too much, Karl. Strangers aren't good for the name of this town."

"Well I don't wanna be a stranger for too long, honestly," Karl replies, his tone drowning in sincerity. "I'd like to get to know everyone better if I can. I think it'd really help all of us, you know?"

By the sudden glare from both Robin and his friend, it doesn't look like Karl's making it any better for himself. So thankfully, Lily steps in, and he silently thanks her.

Lily steps around the barrels and drags both men out with her, stopping in front of the boys. She smiles warmly. "You boys are free to come by and check up on Karl if you want to, alright? My home's always open, and I figure Karl will be staying for a little while with me and Corns until he really settles in."

The boy who has stayed silent for most of the interaction finally speaks up, his voice at least above a whisper. Not nearly as loud as Robin's, though. "Good deal, right Robin? We do like Lily a lot, and I think any friend of hers is a friend of ours."

Robin looks at Karl, his friend, Cornelius, Lily, back to Karl, and then right at Lily again. "Fine then. We accept your deal, Lily."

"Lovely!" Lily lets go of the men to applaud herself briefly, smiling like there's no tomorrow. It suits her for some reason, and Karl can't figure out why. "Okay, so we'll get going now. Bye, boys, and don't get into too much trouble!" she half-whispers the last part before she's running off, her dress kicking up with her legs when she does so.

"What's your name?" Karl asks the quiet boy, who looks up at him. "If you want to tell me, you can. I won't make you."

"I'm-"

Cornelius grabs Karl by the wrist and gives a nod to the boys, who nod back. "Bye now," he says dismissively, dragging the other man to try and catch up with Lily. Only when he's _sure_ Karl's running still is when he lets go of him and slows his pace slightly. "Stay away from the children. They're nothing but trouble."

Karl doesn't know what kind of 'trouble' the boys may get up to, and he's not keen on finding out anytime soon. So, wordlessly, all he does is nod as they hurry to meet up with Lily, who's waiting for them in front of a flower-decorated house.

_Welcome to A Very Good Town Town._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> give that subscribe button a boop :0  
> booping is free, and you can always unboop!
> 
> VOCABULARY:  
> 1.) Heaters = guns ("The kids got heaters on them")  
> 2.) Heeled = carrying a gun ("They're heeled, Corns, heeled!")  
> 3.) Burn Powder = fire a gun ("Did they burn powder at you?")  
> 4.) Tuck in Bed = knock unconscious ("Tuck 'em in bed")  
> 5.) Brimstone = abandoned person ("Now the brimstone's got your gun")  
> 6.) Ben(s) = a fool(s) ("but you boys are Bens")


End file.
